Cornyn Meets with Secretary of State Nominee Pompeo

‘I hope Director Pompeo will be confirmed on the floor in short order. It would be a grave mistake for this body to fail to confirm the next Secretary of State.’

‘He’s not somebody looking to pick a fight with dangerous regimes or to flex military muscle unnecessarily. What Director Pompeo actually is [is] careful, thoughtful, deliberate.’

U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) today met with CIA Director Mike Pompeo, and spoke on the Senate floor about the importance of confirming him as our next Secretary of State. Excerpts of Sen. Cornyn’s remarks are below.

“Many of our Democratic colleagues have made his nomination a partisan wedge issue. Diplomacy, which is what the State Department does, is supposed to be about bringing people together, not dividing them apart.”

“With the growing number of threats around the world, with heightened tension in North Korea and Syria, it’s clear that we need an intelligent, qualified person in that position. It’s time to put partisan politics aside and confirm this nomination.”

“Fourteen Democrats supported him when the Senate voted last year to approve his nomination to lead the CIA.”

“He’s not somebody looking to pick a fight with dangerous regimes or to flex military muscle unnecessarily. What Director Pompeo actually is [is] careful, thoughtful, deliberate.”

“I hope our colleagues will remember these qualities in the days ahead, and I hope Director Pompeo will be confirmed on the floor in short order. It would be a grave mistake for this body to fail to confirm the next Secretary of State.”

Senator John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, is a member of the Senate Finance, Intelligence, and Judiciary Committees.